The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

“What he loved above all else in the maternal edifice,that which aroused his soul, and made itopen its poor wings . . . was the bells.He loved them, fondled them,talked to them, understood them.”On the night of the Feast of Fools, Quasimodo, the deformed hunchback bellringer of Notre-Dame, tries to attack the beautiful and compassionate Gypsy street dancer, La Esmeralda, and is captured by the king‘s archers. At his trial the following day, when he is publicly flogged and begs for water, it is Esmeralda who comes forward and offers him a drink. Quasimodo falls for her. He decides to protect Esmeralda and devotes himself to her. But as Claude Frollo, the archdeacon of Notre-Dame, and Phœbus de Châteaupers, Captain of the king‘s archers are also battling for her affections, what happens when Esmeralda, who is completely in love with Captain Phœbus, is suspected as his murderer? Will Quasimodo be able to save her?First published in 1831, Victor Hugo‘s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is immensely popular. This historical gothic novel continues to be adapted for stage and screen time and again.